Key facts on South Korea's three chip and AI 'mega projects'

• Samsung plans to invest 2,450 trillion won ($1.59 trillion) domestically between 2026-2040, including 400 trillion won for new semiconductor fabs in Gwangju and 56 trillion won for advanced HBM fabs in Cheonan and Onyang
• SK Group announced 1,100 trillion won for semiconductor production expansion and 1,000 trillion won for AI data centers, with SK Hynix accelerating its Yongin fab completion to 2033 from 2045
• SK, GS Group, and Naver will invest around 550 trillion won initially (expanding to over 1,000 trillion won by 2035) to build 8.4 GW of AI data centers, with construction targeted to begin by H1 2028

Summary: South Korea Announces Major Chip and AI Investment Plans

South Korea unveiled three "mega projects" on June 29 covering semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers, with Samsung Electronics and SK Group leading massive investment commitments.

Samsung Electronics

Samsung announced plans to invest 400 trillion won ($259.25 billion) in new semiconductor fabs in Gwangju, citing expected government support for infrastructure and workforce development. The company will invest an additional 56 trillion won to build advanced high bandwidth memory (HBM) fabs in Cheonan and Onyang.

In total, Samsung committed 2,450 trillion won domestically between 2026 and 2040, with 2,100 trillion won allocated to semiconductor clusters, including ongoing projects at Pyeongtaek and Yongin.

SK Group

SK Group, South Korea's second-largest conglomerate, outlined 1,100 trillion won for semiconductor production expansion and 1,000 trillion won for AI data center projects. Chairman Chey Tae-won indicated the group expects to invest over 100 trillion won annually over the next decade.

Nvidia supplier SK Hynix accelerated construction of its fourth Yongin fab to 2033—12 years ahead of the original 2045 target—and plans 400 trillion won for a new southwestern production base.

AI Data Centers and Physical AI

The government announced that SK, GS Group, and Naver will invest approximately 550 trillion won to build 8.4 GW of AI data centers by early 2028, with investments potentially exceeding 1,000 trillion won by 2035.

South Korea aims to become a top-three global AI robotics power and lead in physical AI by 2030, targeting humanoid commercialization in 2028 and training 10,000 specialists over five years.

Market Implications: These massive investments position South Korea to compete directly with global semiconductor and AI leaders, potentially strengthening supply chains for AI infrastructure and advanced memory chips.